<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Digital Escapism by Ketrin_Like</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25146919">Digital Escapism</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketrin_Like/pseuds/Ketrin_Like'>Ketrin_Like</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anonymity, Drama, M/M, MMORPGs, Online Relationship, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:55:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25146919</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketrin_Like/pseuds/Ketrin_Like</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you just want to escape from reality. You want to forget who you are and try to live like a normal person.<br/>You are aware that this is only a temporary solution, but still can’t do anything with the joy of meeting a new friend in this strange world of magic and sorcery on the other side of the screen.<br/>But who knows, maybe one day you could tell him who you really are?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            A translation of

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25146874">Digital Escapism</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketrin_Like/pseuds/Ketrin_Like">Ketrin_Like</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello, my dear readers!<br/>First off - I have to warn you that English is not my native language and this work was originally written in Russian and then I've translated it to English. So it can have some unusual text formatting.<br/>Still, I will update both versions at the same time once I finish with the next chapter.</p><p>This work also has a title cover and a bunch of illustrations done by me, so you can check them on my DA if you're interested: <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/ketlike/gallery/74145579/digital-escapism">link</a></p><p>Thanks for your attention and happy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow was never fond of games. After all the tests and logic tasks he had been forced to solve in the past, now the most complicated rules seemed too easy to him. He couldn’t find joy even in chess - the cold strategy of war, when you have to sacrifice pieces for victory, was too close to reality. And the reality was what he wanted to rest from.</p><p>Therefore, he found his salvation in books. Fascinating stories about fictional characters in the same-fictional worlds sometimes didn’t have any logic or sense, but this was their charm. It felt like he’s returning to those happy times when the dream about seeing the real sky above your head didn’t seem so impossible. As if, yes, if you want something with all your heart, any wish could come true. And if you found a friend they will stay with you forever, will pass with you through all adversity, hand in hand. And eventually you will certainly win. Together.</p><p>In those strange, bewitching worlds reigned magic and housed all kinds of different creatures. Yes, the general structure was often preserved from book to book, as were the main races and species, but it was even more interesting that way - like it’s one large universe in which many unique heroes live, each with their own story. As if, someday, you could become a part of it yourself.</p><p>One of those books, all of a sudden, had introduced him to the world of online games. At first Shadow couldn’t understand what was going on: the book abounded with unfamiliar terms and abbreviations, and all the characters behaved as if for them the rules of the game were taken for granted. Then he decided to ask Prower as a technology specialist and the little fox gladly dumped a pile of information, articles, guides and other things on him, as it turned out that he was fond of it himself. He also advised him one of the most popular games at that time.</p><p>Shadow wasn’t immediately interested. The rules again turned out to be too simple, and the prospect of paving the way of battle didn’t sound tempting at all. But the deeper he dived into the idea, the better he understood what the creators were trying to achieve.</p><p>One world. Many heroes. Each - with their own story.</p><p>Like a living fantasy book where you could turn into a main character. But you weren’t alone, and you could always find allies with the same goal. And most importantly - you could become anyone, and no one would ever guess who is hiding behind a digital avatar and a set of characters instead of a name.<br/>
So Shadow studied all the available guides, learned all the terms and installed the game.</p><p>He chose the healer class. It was nice to feel, at least somewhere, not just like a killing machine, but what he was originally supposed to be. A cure. A salvation. A hope for healing.</p><p>It wasn’t easy - to be thrown into battle with only three of the attacking abilities to choose from, and with two of them having longer casting time  than the average monster needed to approach. Therefore he teamed up with random groups - everyone was glad to get a heal in the party - but never stayed in one long enough and rejected invitations to any guild. With his erratic schedule, he could be absent from the game for weeks, and this didn’t help in the terms of leveling, so all his new acquaintances usually were leaving him behind pretty quickly.</p><p>Shadow didn’t really care - he was used to loneliness. Yes, he could call Rouge and Omega his friends, and also one blue moron constantly flickering around, as if he had nothing better to do, but yet he was more comfortable alone. When you are aware that your life is essentially endless, it is sometimes easier to be ready for the inevitable right away.</p><p>So he spent his rare hours in the game, paving the way to the top in splendid isolation.</p><p>But somewhere at the middle levels Shadow suddenly found a companion.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So yeah, that was a short prologue to test my pace.<br/>See you soon in the next chapter! Be ready for some mmorpg slang, heh.</p><p>For those, who are not aware of their existence, the book that Shadow read about games was one of the LitRPG ones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LitRPG<br/>I've suddenly learned that those are not so common outside Russia, wow.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Darkness and Explosives</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello guys, sorry for the long wait! The quarantine hit me hard, so I haven't had a lot of time and motivation to work on this fic orz</p><p>But the chapter is finally here, hooray!</p><p>And don't forget that there's a bunch of illustrations that you can find here, on my DA: <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/ketlike/gallery/74145579/digital-escapism">link</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been two months since he logged into the game for the first time. During this time Shadow didn’t make much progress, but he was in no hurry - the game didn’t rush, and at each level you could easily find something to do. The history of the world, no matter how banal it was for its fantasy setting, turned out to be fascinating enough to make you look for all the available quests, slowly delving into the mechanics and lore. And, of course, there was the usual for such games (as he learned from the guides) "grinding" of experience and resources, which could stall you at one level for a while.</p><p>So that day Shadow, as usual, waited on the main square of one of the central cities and monitored the chat for interesting offers. He had a couple of unfinished quests, but ordinary farming would suit him as well - the lack of in-game currency was a common problem no matter what level you were.</p><p>Evening hustle was ever the same: a lot of bustling players scurried around, the traders, on the contrary, stood still, creating a motionless part of the crowd, sometimes the lucky ones, riding the rare mounts, passed by, escorted by the envious glances of their less successful colleagues, and the already formed parties were jostling among others, choosing exactly where to go. There was enough space for everyone - the square was quite extensive, as it should be for a main meeting place. Some players wrote to the global chat, some - to the local one, so Shadow periodically switched his attention from one window to another, trying not to miss the option that suited him best.</p><p>“LF healer! Credits farm. Melee DD, 38 lvl, Centoria.”</p><p>This particular message immediately caught his eye. “Centoria” was an unofficial name for the capital city, famous for both a wide variety of portals and an unpronounceable real name, in which Shadow currently was. His thirty-fifth level was a bit low, but since his task was only healing, and the other player would attack monsters from a close range, there shouldn’t be any problem. Shadow was confident enough in his abilities to feel comfortable with such balance of power.</p><p>“Light priest 35 lvl, standing in the capital,” he quickly wrote a private message to the player with the nickname NitroSoap.</p><p>“Accept inv.” The answer was just as fast and came along with an invitation to the group.</p><p>The player happened to be right there in the square, literally a couple of meters away. His name was highlighted in blue, distinguishing the party member from the crowd, and the black hedgehog switched to the group chat.</p><p>"What’s with that gloomy name, DarkBringer? Aren't you a priest?" greeted him the very first message.</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow skeptically. What kind of greeting was this? "Look at yourself, terrorist monk," he typed in displeasure, noting the no less strange nickname of the second player.</p><p>Three laughing emojis came in response: "Ok, ok, you got me there! Sorry, I just read nicknames for fun. Yours is cool."</p><p>The black hedgehog stared at the screen in bewilderment. What he was supposed to answer to that sudden change of attitude anyway? And should he answer at all?</p><p>In the meantime, a new message appeared in the chat, saving him from the agony of choice: "It’s ok if I'm without a voice? The mike has hiccups, and I still haven't found a new one."</p><p>"Not a problem, I only use chat myself." In the end, Shadow decided to remain in a neutral position. It made no difference to him what was in the head of his temporary ally. As long as it wouldn’t affect the current game, of course.</p><p>Speaking of the game…</p><p>"So, where are we going?"  Shadow asked about the plans then, since the other player should clearly have something in mind if he was looking for a party.</p><p>And yes, he immediately got the reply with several messages in a row: "There is a good spot in one portal from here. Just right for a party of two. It’s ok for solo too, but with a heal there won't be any need to rest so often. And also we can pull more mobs… if you won't let me die, heh.”</p><p>“I’ll die right after you then, actually,” Shadow noticed the obvious thing.</p><p>"Uh, yeah, that motivates." Another laughing emoji flew into the chat.</p><p>Shadow only snorted vaguely while the figure of the second player moved towards one of the exits from the city.</p><p>"Better through the northern portal - it’ll drop us closer."</p><p>Shadow sent his character after him and typed: "Why not a full group? Are you sure two is enough?"</p><p>"Not a fan of crowds," the monk admitted. "Usually I play solo, and only team up with a healer for farming, since it's faster. So yes, two of us will be enough. I stand alone for a whole party."</p><p>"You’re overconfident."</p><p>Three laughing emojis again. "But it's true."</p><p>"Won't believe until I see it."</p><p>"Downer."</p><p>"Realist," Shadow disagreed.</p><p>The companion answered with a sticked out tongue: "Boooring."</p><p>But Shadow wasn’t going to argue further. Why waste time on empty conversation, if tomorrow he won't even remember this meeting?</p><p>The other player, however, seemed to have a different opinion and continued, sending messages one after another with a machine-gun burst as if he had four hands: "For some reason, no one takes an unarmed monk seriously. But let me tell ya - with the right stats, it can give odds to any other DD! Yeah, the single punch is weak, but if you raise SPD and crit, you'll get a killer machine that will easily destroy everything around. Okay, maybe a bad example, since you’re a healer, but anyway - how much damage do your spells do on average?"</p><p>Sighing in resignation, Shadow nevertheless answered, keeping the conversation going: "A spell. The second one is DoT, and the third one is a finisher. About 500-700, 1.5k with a crit."</p><p>"Weeeell. My average is about the same. Only thing tho - while you cast one, I deal seven, if not more. Can be counted for 3 missing players, dontcha think?"</p><p>"Not if they are archers."</p><p>"Heck, yes, you're right again - can't compete with them, haha. Still, I can easily beat up five mobs of my level at the same time. Eh, almost dying tho, but not the point."</p><p>Shadow had to admit to himself that it indeed sounded impressive. But it only <em>sounded</em> that way.</p><p>"Whatever. Won't see - won't believe."</p><p>"Okay, gotcha. Less words, more deeds! Then go ahead, my faithful healer - to adventure!"</p><p>"What am I, a riding horse to you?"</p><p>At this pace they slowly reached first the portal and then - the desired point on the map. The location chosen by today's companion was called "The Acidulous Chimera Tower" and was the ruins of the said tower, which previously belonged to some unlucky alchemist. The ruins, just like the whole area around, were a chaotic pile of stones, blown apart by the explosion, scorched and eaten away by the incessant acid rain pouring from dense clouds looming over the center of the location and embedding it in a disturbing gloom.</p><p>Shadow has been here before on some small quests with other groups, but never went here alone - besides the already not particularly welcoming atmosphere, the location had a rare feature: each group entered into its own copy of the ruins to not interfere with others. This mechanic made ordinary locations look like some kind of dungeons but on the surface. The only thing was that, for some reason, there wasn't a single boss in the vicinity of the tower - only countless hordes of small monsters. It would seem as an ideal place for farming, but the acid rain, mocking the players, was gradually eating up the health bar, ignoring any armor. And also it corroded the equipment, slowly but inexorably removing durability points.</p><p>Shadow was about to draw attention to this unpleasant detail, but was stopped by a spell with which the monk surrounded first him and then himself. A translucent cocoon of the shield enveloped their in-game avatars, and Shadow, hovering over the newly appeared icon of the buff, read:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Tawhiri's blessing. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Protects the target from the effects of the weather."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Class buff," the party member explained, anticipating any questions. "Got it for a hidden quest. Tho it's not that hidden - just not everyone wants to bother for the situational spell. But I think it’s pretty useful. And adds aesthetic points to the class."</p><p>"Air spec, I assume?"</p><p>"Yeah! It has the best SPD bonus. At high lvls you won’t even need a mount - will be faster on foot. Not noticeable yet, but judging by the calculations, by the sixtieth level I’ll get just enough."</p><p>"Sounds handy.”</p><p>“Right? And mobs are easier to collect! Speaking of which... slimes or fireflies?"</p><p>The question was about the type of monsters they were going to farm, so Shadow thought for a second. Either slimes - small lumps of concentrated potions’ and reagents’ remnants all colors of the rainbow, which by some miracle came to life and now slowly crawled over the stones - or fireflies - sparks of alchemical fire hovering low above the ground, which also acquired a semblance of intelligence - were the most numerous mobs in the location. Both respawned at the same rate, the amount of experience and loot were generally similar, so the choice was determined by their abilities. Shadow didn’t like fireflies, since they were immune to Light spells and also strove to fly away and attack from afar every now and then. But slimes had the same problem as the acid rain: as soon as you touch one, you get a corroding debuff. A short one, but considering that the monk was going to attack literally with his bare hands…</p><p>“I’m immune to slimes btw,” appeared in the chat in response to Shadow's thoughts. “They are just too slow. Getting tired of waiting for them to crawl."</p><p>“Then let’s just train them."</p><p>“Ha, that's an idea! Just watch for the mana then, I don't want to run from the respawn."</p><p>"No need to remind me. No one has ever died due to my fault."</p><p>"And look who called <em>me</em> overconfident!"</p><p>Slimes indeed turned out to be terribly slow, but surprisingly fitting for leisurely farming. While the monk was dealing with the first batch, the distant ones had enough time to crawl closer just to immediately fall under the blows of his fists, reinforced by some kind of air spell that created a barrier against corrosive mucus. From time to time the other player used strange combos, that also included legs movement, and Shadow, frankly bored from the monotony of his own spells, involuntarily noticed that some of the animations seemed familiar to him. Weird thing, but it looked like someone from the developers team decided to make a strange reference to reality and one all too famous speed fan. And no surprise that it was for the class aimed at said speed... Although, maybe he's digging too deep? World has a lot of fighting styles.</p><p>Frowning, Shadow shook his head in displeasure. There was no point in getting hung up on such nonsense - the whole reason behind the game was not to think about the real world. That real world with its annoying, stubborn and unbearably egocentric <em>blue</em> inhabitants. The game had its own rules. And all possible coincidences were <em>just coincidences</em> and nothing more. Otherwise, he could even decide that this idiot would somehow be able to get him in the game. Chaos forbid.</p><p>"Dontcha think it's kinda boring?" Once again, in unison with his thoughts, the second player suddenly asked. “How about switching to bunnies? I think we’ll handle them.”</p><p>"Bunnies", as players fondly called them, were overgrown muscular saber-toothed hares the height of a player's model, with clawed paws covered with scales and a long living snake instead of a tail. According to legend, a local alchemist, before his tower had blown up, was also creating chimeras. Some of them survived and, with the natural speed of their kind, bred in incredible numbers. They lived a little away from the ruins and other experiments of the failed magician, on a wide plateau with rare bushes of grass. Chimeras were considered elite monsters, and even if they really gave more experience and loot, they also caused the same amount of problems.</p><p>"Why them?" Shadow asked about such a strange choice.</p><p>"They have the rarest drop in this location: a foot for luck. Chances are low, but if we get at least one - that’s a win. But, to be honest, I’ve never seen it yet."</p><p>The legendary accessory with a high luck stat indeed sounded like a worthy reason to try and, at the same time, add at least some entertainment to the dull farm, so Shadow agreed by sending a short "Okay, let's try."</p><p>After finishing off the last group of slimes, they moved to a new spot. The monk made a small circle, marking a safe area: "Stay here - I’ll get them closer to you. Their agro-radius is higher than other mobs’, so it's better not to get too close. Otherwise, if we suddenly pull four, they’ll merge into a larger one. I usually beat them one at a time, two at most, and still almost die."</p><p>It was the first time Shadow heard about such a mechanic for chimeras. But no surprise - he himself encountered them not so long ago, and yes, usually no group had pulled more than two at a time.</p><p>"Then where did you learn that?"</p><p>"My brother’s been playing since the game's launch and often throws in interesting info. He’s also waiting for my max lvl to invite to his guild."</p><p>Shadow just had time to think that one more player would again, as usual, overtake him, when the monk continued with an unexpected message: "But he’s gonna wait <em>a lot</em> - at this rate it won’t happen till next year."</p><p>"Lack of time?"</p><p>"Yeah, constantly busy irl."</p><p>"With what, if not a secret?"</p><p>There was a slight hitch. "Mostly work. The company is quite big, and I am in the high management. Not much time for games ... Aaand we got distracted. Mobs, right?"</p><p>"Right."</p><p>Shadow himself didn’t understand why he suddenly asked this question. The decision was spontaneous, and, apparently, he just wanted to know what problems normal people have that don’t allow them wasting time on games. He himself could call his work "a job", but usually this concept doesn’t include raids into enemy bases full of robots, the hunt for legendary stones and fighting global threats. Activities as far from "normal" as possible. And hardly anyone was actually interested in what it costs to keep their relative well-being on this defenseless planet, which is constantly trying to be captured by either the mad Doctor or aliens from outer space. Or all at once. News always spread only the final result, leaving unsightly details behind the scenes. He noticed more than once how even Sonic, who had just cheerfully smiled at the camera or in a conversation with the fans surrounding him, frowned painfully when he thought that no one was seeing him, and with a hiss checked how big the bruises, barely noticeable under the natural blue of his fur, turned out to be this time. Not that Shadow cared. Of course not. He had better things to do rather than worry about this narcissistic jerk. He could handle it himself. As he always did.</p><p>But his fellow party member clearly needed help - while the black hedgehog was again distracted by his thoughts, he somehow managed to bring two chimeras at once with him and his health bar was already dangerously half-empty.</p><p>"Wake up, sleepyhead! Time to bring some of your darkness or I’ll kick the bucket!"</p><p>"I bet you’ll make a good explosion then, Glycerin," Shadow answered, raising his health points to the maximum in one cast.</p><p>"It’s a sneaker brand! Not my fault they chose that name."</p><p>Some thought immediately surfaced in the back of his mind, but Shadow didn't have time to catch it by the tail - the priority was on saving his ally from the teeth of mad rabbits since those, in the last percents of their lives, got enraged and doubled the damage onto the already suffering monk. But the said monk activated some spell that made his hands glow blue, and finished them both with the final combo.</p><p>"Nice! Two with ease! How about three then? Or is this your limit?"</p><p>Shadow chuckled. Is he trying to dare him? "Lead three," he agreed "Just careful, no need for a fourth yet."</p><p>"Yet? That’s one ambitious spirit! Okay, consider it done!"</p><p>The monk leaped from its place, pulling out triplets of monsters, and the next ten minutes merged into a continuous fight, interrupted by short pauses when they both restored mana.</p><p>"Fourth?" the party member asked in another respite.</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>"It’ll be like a mini-boss, with an additional DoT."</p><p>"Not a problem - I seem to overheal you anyway."</p><p>"Okay then. Easier for me - just one target."</p><p>"Stop talking and pull already."</p><p>The "combined" chimera received additional "Acid" status to its name and a new ability to poison everything around, matching its unfriendly homeland. The shield that protected them from the weather, of course couldn’t save from that effect, and Shadow praised himself for being prudent, because he had just recently obtained the spell specifically directed against poisons. So the DoT didn’t cause them any problems - the black hedgehog dispelled its effect faster than it dealt the first damage.</p><p>"That was <em>too</em> easy. Maybe two?"</p><p>"Bring it on," Shadow agreed to his own surprise. But he really started to wonder what was his current limit. Because it looked like he had never had a chance to use the entire arsenal of his spells.</p><p>As a result, it turned out that, paired with a monk who was very successfully dodging attacks, he could cover the damage from three large chimeras. Although with a respite immediately after, so Shadow suggested returning to the previous pulling tactic, with only two, as the most effective.</p><p>But after his message, the party member stopped and froze for a while. And then the following message appeared in the chat: "What do you think - will four big bunnies merge into the even larger one?"</p><p>Shadow thoughtfully assessed the prospects of this guess. "Better not to check," he responded in a few seconds. "At least it’s clear what to do with the current ones. But the new one may have some other nasty skills."</p><p>"Hey, but what about the adventure spirit? Why doubt - you'll never know until you try!"</p><p>And, without waiting for an answer, the monk rushed sharply into the midst of the monsters.</p><p>"Wait!" Shadow typed in a hurry, but his belated message was completely ignored.</p><p>So he had to, gritting his teeth and sending curses to that idiot’s back, switch completely to his role - since they actually had started, there was no point to hold back now. And honestly, four chimeras sounded not so scary when you think about it. At least it’s not like the second player planned to collect <em>all</em> the monsters in the location, right?</p><p>But he didn't have to plan it. The game did everything by itself.</p><p>As soon as one more hare joined the poisonous trio, all four suddenly froze in place. Then simultaneously lifted their muzzles up. And howled.</p><p>Even if he was sitting safely in his chair behind the monitor screen, Shadow instinctively bristled up his quills - the shrill scream that came through the headphones was more suiting to a horror movie than a colorful fantasy game. Whose thought was it to record this down anyway?</p><p>But the crazy imagination of the location creators didn’t stop there: all other chimeras immediately began to flock to the howling ones. Or, better said, <em>flow</em> towards them - the monsters had turned into amorphous lumps of mucus covered with fur and started to slide incredibly quickly along the ground, directly to the center of the call, uniting into one mass. A very, very huge mass.</p><p>"What the hell?" Shadow typed into chat, while an unsightly hill of flesh grew on the screen, bit by bit acquiring the familiar twisted rabbit features and growing a tail. Three tails.</p><p>"Seems like I summoned a boss."</p><p>"I can see it myself! Why is it here?"</p><p>"I have a better question: how about we kill it?"</p><p>"Without a tank? Are you crazy?"</p><p>"Why do we need a tank? If you have me." And a provocatively winking emoji at the end of the message.</p><p>"You're <em>too</em> arrogant."</p><p>"I prefer to call it "faith in yourself."</p><p>"Idiot."</p><p>"Adventurer!"</p><p>"For me it sounds the same... Fine, you've started it, so pull, maybe we’ll indeed kill it."</p><p>"I knew I could rely on you!"</p><p>"We've only known each other for two hours."</p><p>"Two whole hours! In real life, ten minutes would be enough for me."</p><p>"Dream. I wouldn't even listen to you in the first place."</p><p>
  <em>‘One such idiot at my side is more than enough.’</em>
</p><p>The monk responded with a laughing emoji and a message: "Then it's good that we met in the game."</p><p>For a second a strange sensation, almost deja vu, swept through his mind, but Shadow immediately brushed it aside. The boss had already completely formed and quickly rushed forward, targeting the second player as the closest one, so he didn’t have time to be distracted again. Maybe he’ll think about it later.</p><p>The boss was huge. It towered over the location: pitch black, with glowing acid-green eyes and shiny sharp scales on its paws and three wriggling, venomous snake tails. The design was matching its dangerous role ... and it was level 50, as Shadow belatedly noted, when the first hit the monk missed took half of his health. Two such hits in a row - and no healing will help, so Shadow had to cast additional shields, spending reagents. Not a big loss - you can always buy new ones, but he didn't want to lose his reputation as a good healer. Even in front of one player.</p><p>The monk, in turn, also revealed some rare skills, because every now and then he flashed in all shades of blue and gray, activating his air spells. The boss' health bar briskly crawled down, making Shadow suspect that the fight was too simple so far, which is why he began to conserve mana. And for good reason.</p><p>At half health, the boss began to attack with its tails. Again, the poison had zero effect thanks to the dispel, but the damage increased. At a quarter of health, all three snakes began to bite at the same time.</p><p>At the last 10 percent - the boss became enraged.</p><p>The very first bite of large fangs sent the monk to the verge of death, leaving a pitiful crumb of health in the red zone. Shadow reacted instantly, throwing one of his most powerful spells, and tried to figure out how to make it clear to the second player that it would be better to leave the boss be or else they would receive a death penalty. But, to his relief, the monk ran away from the boss himself, and began kiting it in circles, giving them both an opportunity to write to the chat.</p><p>"I think that’s enough - better retreat." Shadow was the first with his message.</p><p>"Won’t work. The location prevents leaving it while in battle."</p><p>"What kind of stupid mechanic is this?"</p><p>"Ask the developers - they've clearly had a lot of fun here."</p><p>"Darn."</p><p>"Darn indeed... Well, I didn't think that it would go into rage too. Sorry, looks like we'll have to die. But we were so close!" Sad and crying emojis followed that message.</p><p>Shadow tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the table. He had one option, but he kept that spell as a last resort: three days of cooldown meant the lost opportunity to go to some dungeon with a <em>normal</em> group in the near future. But on the other hand, he didn't want to lose EXP points after death. And the close victory added excitement - what could fall from such an unusual boss?</p><p>Not like he wanted to show off the unique ability in front of a new acquaintance... Why would he, right?</p><p>The boss suddenly took a long leap forward and got the monk with a massive hit. Only the timely applied shield saved him from death, and Shadow made his decision.</p><p>“Okay, I have an idea. Give me ten seconds. "</p><p>"I’d love to, but if he jumps again..."</p><p>"I'll give you five, but the rest is on you."</p><p>"Much better!"</p><p>The black hedgehog smirked at how fast his companion's mood changed into enthusiasm again, and then cast two spells at the same time. The first one, called "Second Chance", which would cost him a whole day of waiting for recharge, surrounded the other player with a sparkling shield that fully restored his health and gave five seconds of immunity to any damage. The second, that chained the healer's figure in place and took away the opportunity to do anything else, began a ten-second countdown, that showed as the bright slowly filling with gold line at the bottom of the screen. Three days of cooldown and all current mana reserves for ignoring any defense of the target - "Ascension" was the highest damage spell that his class could obtain mid-level. Back then, Shadow had to spend a week just looking for the right NPC, and then two more to complete the entire quest chain, but it was worth it. And considering that Ascension was not an attack in the usual sense...</p><p>Two seconds passed.</p><p>On the third, the boss called for help.</p><p>The fur on the back of the colossal chimera went in waves and swelled up by a dozen semicircular bumps, which, bursting, shot pieces of flesh into the air. Still in flight, the familiar poisonous “bunnies” formed from those, and, once fallen to the ground, turned towards Shadow. In the list of the boss' priority, he apparently went higher, because the whole chimera crowd immediately rushed to him.</p><p>
  <em>‘Oh, for Chaos sake!’</em>
</p><p>Gritting his teeth, the dark hedgehog stared at the monitor in pure anger - right now, without the ability to cast even the weakest shield, any attack was fatal for him. Only six seconds separated the boss from defeat, but in the end it still was able to surprise.</p><p>"Hold the cast!" Having managed to send a message in some unimaginable way, the monk rushed to the monsters, still leading the boss after him. At the last second of immunity, he crashed into their very midst as he cast an AoE spell, drawing the attention of everyone near him onto himself, and rushed further, now without any protection. The lesser chimeras were much faster than their massive cousin, and Shadow watched intently as the second player's health bar slowly crawled down from their attacks and gradually accumulated poison.</p><p>There were three seconds left.</p><p>"Drink potions! The poison will finish you off before my cast is over!"</p><p>"I've already used everything I could. No more saves."</p><p>"Shit."</p><p>Two seconds.</p><p>"I always knew I would die young."</p><p>"Stupid joke."</p><p>One.</p><p>"Well, at least it was fun."</p><p>The charging line has reached its end.</p><p>At the same instant, a bright flash of light tore the eternal veil of acid clouds. A sparkling ring appeared in the sky, sending dozens of golden rays to the sides, which scattered the gray clouds and illuminated a wide area below them, pulling it out of the embrace of darkness. Through the hole in the clouds, from a clear blue sky, thousands of small sparks rushed down, in a single synchronized dance circling around the figures of the monsters and the boss. They fettered their movements, stopping several in the middle of a jump, and immediately covered them from head to toe, making them look like gilded statues. And then they flashed blindingly, painting the monitor screen in crystal white.</p><p>When the interface, that vanished in this illumination, appeared in the game window again, Shadow immediately glanced at the icon of the party member.</p><p>Right before his eyes, along with the last tick of poison, it turned gray.</p><p>The player died.</p><p>Shadow exhaled in frustration and pulled his tightly clenched fists away from the keyboard. If not for the spell that took away all his mana, he could have saved him. Or if he had at least a second left, that tiny percentage at the beginning of the blue bar, which has already begun to recover, would be also enough. One moment, as usual, turned out to be decisive. This wasn’t the first game death that he didn’t manage to prevent, but it was partly his fault anyway, since he agreed to try to kill the boss. The death penalty was quite severe, and could cost several days of continuous leveling, so Shadow prepared himself mentally for the subsequent reproaches.</p><p>But, despite his pessimistic attitude, the chat exploded with enthusiastic screams:</p><p>"Gods, it was so cool! Right at the last second! And look, look! Achievement! Yes! Hurray! Finally!"</p><p>In the list of recent achievements, a new one had indeed appeared:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"David vs. Goliath"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kill a boss 10+ levels higher in a group of 2 or less players."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Shadow had a sudden hunch. He reread the description of the achievement and the last message of the party member. So...</p><p>"You knew they would merge into the boss." It wasn't even a question, Shadow just voiced the fact.</p><p>There was a pause in the chat for a while, that interrupted further happy comments.</p><p>"Well... yes," the second player confessed reluctantly, but immediately continued at the usual hurried pace, "But I wanted to kill him so much, while I'm less than 40, you have no idea!"</p><p>"So you needed a heal for that? Couldn't tell right away?" For more effect, Shadow even added an emoji rarely used by him, highlighting his displeasure with the annoyed one.</p><p>In response, two pleading faces came at once: "I didn’t plan on touching him - I thought it’ll be just a regular farm. I’ve tried a couple of times before, and nothing worked, so I gave up. And then you appeared. Never seen a better heal! So I decided to take a chance. And it turned out great, don’t you think?"</p><p>Flattery didn't work for Shadow. No, really. He already knew that he was an excellent healer, and he didn’t need such direct compliments to his game. But the monk was clearly sincere in his story, otherwise they wouldn’t have spent an hour and a half on ordinary monsters. Still that didn’t justify him.</p><p>"Anyway - you could have at least warned me." Shadow was still angry.</p><p>"I wanted it to be a surprise!"</p><p>"Because of your ‘surprises’ I’ve spent two daily spells!"</p><p>"Oops?"</p><p>The black hedgehog sighed, running his hand over his face. So what to do with such an idiot?</p><p>"Seriously, I'm sorry." Appeared in the chat in the meantime. "How about you take all today's loot? Both from mobs and the boss. Since I messed up."</p><p>Shadow stared dubiously at the message for several seconds. The offer was tempting. Even too much. Quite expensive craft reagents fell from elite monsters, and something valuable was definitely left from the boss. So the next, boring and meaningless farm will move further in time...</p><p>Shadow sighed in resignation. "No," he answered. "50 to 50, as agreed. You lost EXP with death after all."</p><p>"Who cares about that EXP!  Better say - how did you hit them all at once? I didn't know that priests have such spells. It wasn't an attack, was it? What did it do?"</p><p>"Ascended. Literally. Sent to another plane, clearing away the filth of the physical world. Not my words, it's written in the description. Technically, it simply nullified the HP bar."</p><p>"Oh, a powerful one! And looks <em>very</em> impressive!"</p><p>"Yes, it does." Shadow smirked. Then he looked at the clock, assessing the possibility of continuing the game further. "Do you have more time? Shall we continue?"</p><p>"No, I think that's enough - too expensive to jump to you again. And it's actually pretty late. Work tomorrow, so I’d better sleep. What did the boss drop?"</p><p>Instead of the usual corpse or treasure chest boss left only a handful of sparkling dust. The hole in the clouds had already closed, so the golden specks glowed dimly, threatening to disappear at any moment should they be disturbed. Of course, the mechanics of the game didn't work that way, so Shadow took the well-earned loot without any problems, and sent the list of dropped items to the chat.</p><p>“Tell me what you need from this. I’ll sell the rest and send you half the cost."</p><p>"Eh, the foot didn’t drop."</p><p>"Achievement isn't enough for you? Be glad for what did drop - it would be incredibly lucky to get a legendary as well."</p><p>"Well, that's why it's 'lucky', isn't it?"</p><p>"The name doesn't speak of nature."</p><p>"Your truth, Dark One."</p><p>Shadow signed at the final winking emoji that followed the message. It would be great if the same could be said of reality. No, the black hedgehog liked his name, but not everyone understood the true meaning put into it by one sickly little girl in the hope of a miracle.</p><p>Sometimes he didn’t understand it himself.</p><p>"Anyway, I'm going offline." Shadow wrote as soon as he left the unfriendly location.</p><p>"Wait a minute," came almost instantly.</p><p>And then a familiar notification appeared on the screen:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"NitroSoap wants to add you as a friend.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Accept || Decline"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Maybe we'll get together sometime again?"</p><p>The dark hedgehog looked thoughtfully at the message window. His friend list was empty from the start of the game for the same reasons as the guild menu. But, after hesitating for a few seconds, he clicked "Accept"...</p><p>"Sure. Though I don't know when I'll be online next time - my work schedule is floating."</p><p>"No worries, I have the same problem, remember?"</p><p>...because this evening in the game was the strangest he ever had. But also, and it was hard to deny, the most exciting. Perhaps, he really wouldn’t mind repeating it.</p><p>Someday.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>...someone has a lot of stuff in his mind to deny, right? &gt;w&gt;</p><p>Anyway, the game part is over, now moving to the real world!</p><p>(Hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner than in 4 months, haha)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>